P.E.O. Chapter AU/BZ celebrates Founders’ Day

Each lady brought a salad and president Jo Neal provided the birthday cake. The beautiful table decorations were provided by Bea Robey, Carol Luebker and Rebecca Phillips.

Pam Estes presented the program. She explained how seven girls at Iowa Wesley College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa collaborated on forming a girls’ organization, and so P.E.O. was founded on Jan. 31, 1869. This circle of kindred spirits, bound by their enthusiasm for women’s opportunities, eventually expanded to include women off campus, as well.

Today, P.E.O. has grown from that tiny membership of seven to almost a quarter of a million members in chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. The organization even owns Cotty College in Nevada, Mo.

“Friendship is the cornerstone of P.E.O — it is the legacy left by our founders and it thrives in our unique sisterhood today,” a spokesman said.